language diversity

Question 1

Language diversity:
What is standard English?

Answer 1

The dialect of English that is considered to have the most prestige and is used in the education system and in formal written texts.

Question 2

Language diversity:
What is slang?

Answer 2

Referring to words and phrases which are considered informal.

Question 3

Language diversity:
What is dialect?

Answer 3

“variation in words and structures associated with a particular geographical region.”
Remember that dialect can be lexical features or variations in grammar. In the Yorkshire dialect, for example, lexical examples include snicket (an alleyway), spice (sweets), laiking/ lecking out(playing outside) and beefing (crying). Grammatical variations in this dialect include ellipsis of the definite article (Let’s go shops) and the use of ‘were’ in place of ‘was’ (I were late).

Question 4

Language diversity:
What is taboo?

Answer 4

Lexical choices which can be deemed to be offensive, taboo language includes swearing or using words which are considered inappropriate and unacceptable.

Question 5

Language diversity:
What is technology influenced words and phrases?

Answer 5

There is evidence that certain social groups use words and phrases in their speech which are normally associated with written technology forms such as tweets, texts and other forms of instant messages. A common example is ‘imho’: in my honest/ humble opinion.

Question 6

Language diversity:
What is neologisms?

Answer 6

New words are constantly entering the English Language. In 2013, 2014, new additions to the Oxford English Dictionary included: bestie, selfie, my time, twerking, unlike, emoji and geek chic.

Question 7

Language diversity:
What is occupational register?

Answer 7

Sometimes stemming from personal interests, an occupational register or jargon is largely based on shared understanding between certain groups or individuals. An example could be the jargon used by ‘gamers’. The website The Circular lists a large range of jargon and claims ‘game players have developed a unique language of their own.’

Question 8

Language diversity:
What is received pronunciation?

Answer 8

This accent is used in the teaching of English as a foreign language and is used in dictionaries which give pronunciations. This has led to it being viewed as the ‘correct’ and most esteemed accent; it is often associated with prestige and formality: for example, the Queen’s speech and salutatory speech in the Houses of Parliament.

Question 9

Language diversity:
What is regional accent?

Answer 9

RP is not associated with a particular area of the country. In contrast, one of the key aspects of language diversity is regional accent. This is the way you pronounce certain words depending on where you live.

Question 10

Language diversity:
What is accent?

Answer 10

Variation in pronunciation associated with a particular geographical region.

Question 11

Language diversity:
Language variety can depend upon?

Answer 11

• personal and social varieties including:
  . age
  . gender
  . occupation
  . sexuality
• regional dialects
• national varieties

Question 12

Language diversity:
Scouse:
- what region is it spoken in?
- origins?

Answer 12

• spoken in Liverpool.
• Liverpool’s position as a port can be seen as a key influential factor in this dialect’s development. Largely influenced by the arrival of many migrant workers from Ireland into the city, Scouse is a mix of many dialects.

Question 13

Language diversity:
Geordie:
- what region is it spoken in?
- origins?

Answer 13

• spoken in the North East
• this dialect can be tracked back to the settlement of Anglo-Saxons in the North East approximately 1500 years ago. The language they spoke has evolved into several dialects, including Geordie.

Question 14

Language diversity:
Brummie:
- what region is it spoken in?
- origins?

Answer 14

• spoken in Birmingham
• another dialect that can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxons

Question 15

Language diversity:
Yorkshire:
- what region is it spoken in?
- origins?

Answer 15

• spoken throughout Yorkshire counties
• there are many words and expressions in Yorkshire that have their roots in the language of the Vikings

Question 16

Language diversity:
Mancunian:
- what region is it spoken in?
- origins?

Answer 16

• spoken in Manchester
• similar to Scouse, Mancunian is likely to have developed through an influx of migrant workers moving to the city for work. This was most prevalent when Manchester became a port during the Industrial revolution.

Question 17

Language diversity:
Linguistic can change in space and time what are the specialised term for this?

Answer 17

• diachronic - time
• synchronic - space

Question 18

Language diversity:
why do we choose language?

Answer 18

• we choose language to represent/ reflect identity
• chose to construct yourself with
• just naturally use
• depends on who you are and who you want to be

Question 19

Language diversity:
define colloquialisms?

Answer 19

A colloquialism is an informal expression used in everyday conversation rather than in formal writing. It often varies by region or cultural group and can include idioms, phrases, and pronunciations that reflect casual speech. Colloquialisms are typically less formal than standard language and can include expressions like contractions or slang, but they are not necessarily considered non-standard or substandard.

Question 20

Language diversity case study:
Cockney rhyming slang - what is it used for?

Answer 20

• originally it was thought of as a cryptolect (to be able to talk about illegal activity without people being able to understand you, eg the police
• it can also be seen as in-group language (if you know it we are the same we are part of a community)

Question 21

Language diversity case study:
Cockney rhyming slang - Examples of it?

Answer 21

• gypsy’s kiss = piss (however only say Gypsy’s)
• barnet fair = hair
• tea leaf = thief
• sky rocket = pocket
• dinky doos = shoes
• Lady Godiva = fiver
• dog and bone phone

Question 22

Language diversity case study:
Cockney rhyming slang -
What does the use of myth, important people in history in cockney rhyming slang signify?

Answer 22

that the people that are using it are intelligent and understand myth and history (lower to middle class)

Question 23

Language diversity case study:
Cockney rhyming slang -
Semantic fields for the surface(what is directly said)?

Answer 23

• names/ proper nouns- Adam and Eve, Alan Whickers, Barney Rubble, Aunt Joana, Brahms and Liszt.
• common objects- septic tank, bottle and glass, whistle and flute, dust bin lid(s), jam-jar
• actions- kick and prance, tomfoolery, laugh n joke, rub-a-dub
• animals- bees and honey, dicky bird, Irish pig, Cock and hen
• foods- bread and cheese, bubble and squeak, custard and jelly, plates of meat, tea leaf, roast pork, sausage and mash, bees and honey, mince pies
  myth- Lady Godiva, Adam and Eve, Sweeney Todd? (local knowledge)
• places- Isle of Wight, Bristol City, Chalk farm, Peckham rye, Hampton Wick
• music- whistle and flute, orchestra stalls. Brahms and Liszt, Vera Lynn (musician), Hank Marvin (musician).

Question 24

Language diversity case study:
Cockney rhyming slang -
Semantic fields of words coded for/ meaning words?

Answer 24

• taboo- piss, shit, crap, prick, titties, arse
• body parts- arse, head, face, eyes, feet, balls, breasts, hair
• action- skive, fart, walk, pinch (to steal), dance, piss
• food- curry, gin, tea
• family members- sister, cousin, kids, daughter, wife (all female or ambiguous?)
• clothing- jewellery, tights, boots, trousers, knickers, suit, wigs, flares, braces
• pub culture- drunk, gin, pissed, pub, boozer
• working class words- rent, lodger, thief?, pinch (to steal)

Question 25

Language diversity case study: Cockney rhyming slang - what is aiding dialect levelling?

Answer 25

social mobility and technology (e.g. TV shows) are aiding dialect levelling and the spreading of Cockney rhyming slang the cockney rhyming slang bible is an example of convergence (By Mike Coles)

Question 26

Language diversity case study: Cockney rhyming slang - What's happening to CRS today?

Answer 26

- it is dying out as a cryptolect - its now fairly well known (people moving etc.) - perhaps theres a bit of dialect levelling happening - we are creating out own knew ones - being used as more general idiomatic phrases

Question 27

Language diversity case study: Cockney rhyming slang - define idiomatic phrases?

Answer 27

A phrase that has an accepted and known meaning that is different from the dictionary definition of each individual word - for example: he's part of the furniture now, I wish you wouldn't stick tour oar in, I'd do that at the drop of a hat, you've hit the nail on the head.

Question 28

Language diversity case study: Cockney rhyming slang - define social mobility?

Answer 28

A phrase that is used to describe a person's move from one social class or level to another - this may occur through changing jobs, getting married or a through change in a person's economic or financial situation.

Question 29

Language diversity: What are discourses?

Answer 29

Any structure of language larger than the sentence. (across speech/ writing etc.)

Question 30

Language diversity: What is MLE?

Answer 30

Multicultural London English

Question 31

Language diversity: Define dialect levelling?

Answer 31

The process by which language forms of different parts of the country converge and become more similar over time, with the loss of regional features and reduced diversity of language.

Question 32

Language diversity: what are the main causes of dialect levelling? what two people are mentioned here?

Answer 32

- the linguist Leslie Milroy (2002) argues that increasing geographical mobility leads to the 'large-scale disruption of close-knit, localised networks that have historically maintained highly systematic and complex sets of socially structured linguistic norms.' - the reduction of rural employment and the subsequent construction of suburbs and new towns are supported by these statistics quoted by Paul Kerswill in his paper 'mobility, meritocracy and dialect levelling: the fading (and phasing) out of received pronunciation.' → 1831 34% lived in cities → 1931 80% lived in cities → 1991 90% lived in cities → 1990s: 1.2% working in agriculture. - linked to the previous bullet point, social mobility has increased, leading to, according to Kerswill, the consequent breakdown of tight knit working class communities.' - Kerswill also cites the 'increased interaction with people of other speech varieties' as a possible cause of dialect levelling

Question 33

Language diversity: In Kerswill's summary of dialect levelling what are the possible causes of dialect levelling? examples of 'survivors' of dialect levellling?

Answer 33

- the movement of people led to greater dialect contact - the movement of people led to radical changes in people's social networks, away from strictly local ones comprising family and neighbours to ones that encompass far more strangers and people in different walks of life. The result is dialect levelling with standardisation. However, there are some regional forms that are 'surviving' and it would be incorrect to conclude that all aspects of dialects are being 'levelled,' or are disappearing. 'survivors,' of dialect levelling include: - addition of present tense -s in some verb formations in south and south west of England - I likes - multiple negation - use of ain't - use of never as a negative marker - use of them as demonstrative adjective - absence of plural marking on measures of distance and quantity - absence of adverb marking

Question 34

Language diversity: Key phoneme variations across the United Kingdom- Northumberland?

Answer 34

- In words such as 'city,' the final sound is pronounced /i:/ - In words such as 'dance,' and 'bath,' the vowel sound is /æ/ - There is no distinction between pairs of words like 'put,' and 'putt.' Both are pronounced /pʊt/ - words which in RP have the vowel sound /aʊ/ may be pronounced as /uː/ e.g. 'about.'

Question 35

Language diversity: Key phoneme variations across the United Kingdom- Bradford?

Answer 35

- In words such as 'city' the final sound is pronounced /ɪ/ - In words such as 'dance' and 'bath' the vowel sound is /æ/ - There is no distinction between pairs of words like 'put' and 'putt.' Both are pronounced /pʊt/ - words such as 'make' and 'take' are pronounced /mek/ and /tek/

Question 36

Language diversity: Key phoneme variations across the United Kingdom- Norwich?

Answer 36

-In words such as 'city' the final sound is /iː/ - In words such as 'dance' and 'bath' the vowel sound is /ɑː/ - [ʊ] and /ʌ/ sounds are both present and are distinguished between in words like 'put' and 'putt' - In words such as 'room' the vowel sound is /ʊ/ rather than /uː/

Question 37

Language diversity: Key phoneme variations across the United Kingdom- London and South East?

Answer 37

- In words such as 'city' the final sound is pronounced /i:/ - In words such as 'dance' and 'bath' the vowel sound is /ɑː/ - [ʊ] and /ʌ/ sounds are both present and are distinguished between in words like 'put' and 'putt' - In words such as 'thin' /θ/ becomes /f/ ('fin')

Question 38

Language diversity: Key phoneme variations across the United Kingdom- Liverpool?

Answer 38

- In words such as 'city' the final sound in pronounced /i:/ - In words such as 'dance' and 'bath' the vowel sound is /æ/ - There is no distinction between pairs of words like 'put' and 'putt.' Both are pronounced /pʊt/ since there is no /ʌ/ vowel

Question 39

Language diversity: Key phoneme variations across the United Kingdom- West Midlands?

Answer 39

- In words such as 'city' the final sound is pronounced /i:/ although sometimes the vowel can be a diphthong such as /eɪ/ - In words such as 'dance' and 'bath' the vowel sound is /æ/ - There is no distinction between pairs of words like 'put' and 'putt' Both are pronounced /pʊt/ - 'One' and 'won' are distinguished as /wɒn/ and /wʊn/

Question 40

Language diversity: According to a poll in The Daily Telegraph what are the coolest accents?

Answer 40

1. Queen's English 20% (RP) 2. Scottish 12% 3. Geordie 9% 4. Yorkshire 7% = cockney 7% 6. Northern Irish 6% 7. Welsh 5% 8. Scouse 4% (Liverpool) = Mancunian (4%) (Manchester) 10. West Country 3% 11. Brummie (2%) (Birmingham) Other/ Don't know 21%

Question 41

Language Diversity: What type of language would you associate with the 13-17 age group?

Answer 41

- slang - social media language... memes - in group language - testing the boundaries with taboo

Question 42

Language Diversity: What type of language would you associate with the 18-25 age group?

Answer 42

slang → but less immature Less swearing? (less testing boundaries) more irony with slang - "intellectual, reflective," occupational language (uni, job)

Question 43

Language Diversity: What type of language would you associate with the 30s age group?

Answer 43

outdated slangs and references 'millennial humour' generational identity, in group language

Question 44

Language Diversity: What type of language would you associate with the 50s age group?

Answer 44

have kids → misappropriation of intergenerational language political → power language → less hedging, loss of slangs? - less 'ingroup' reaching

Question 45

Language Diversity: What type of language would you associate with the elderly and retired age group?

Answer 45

more formality/ standard use of punctuation in writing/ tech conservative (small c) attitudes - eg prescriptivists creak/ breath (glottal setting)/ low volume/ slurring (articulation problems) judgemental

Question 46

Euphemism treadmill?

Answer 46

As this get negative connotations they are rejected then changes. e.g. motherese patentees caregiver language CDS

Question 47

Why is there sometimes numbers integrated into slang on text messages?

Answer 47

Because on old phones there where keyboards where you would have to press the button multiple times to get different letters but once for a number so it is faster e.g. gr8 for great (homophony) also use initialisms TY for thank you plus had cost per character